Puppies, Crochet and Love
By Veronica Smith – 14 CommentsPuppies, crochet and love seem to be directly connected, according to my almost 14 year old daughter. Want to know why?
We are getting puppies, possibly lots of puppies, to foster that is. I use to – many moons ago – foster puppies for the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). I am not sure if you have ever had the “pleasure†of tiny puppies but they are messy – really messy. The true horror of very young, almost immobile puppies that have no mommy to run around after them to clean up cannot actually be described. But they are cute, even thought at some point they will develop razors where there teeth should be.
Obviously they are abandoned ones or they would be with their mommy. They turn up for care from as young as 3 weeks of age. You keep them until they are 12 weeks so they can then be adopted. They need bottle feeding every 2 minutes 24 hours a day when they are tiny. The important part of this is that no matter how old they are they manufacture about 50 times their body weight in poo every day. They are tiny and don’t move when they are very young so the poo is on them and anything they are laying on. A lot of bathing and washing happens.
This brings me to crocheting. Off we went, the overexcited child and myself, to the second hand store to get dog blankets – they sell all the old tatty ones for 50c for that purpose. There were 2 very holy, very old crochet ones in the box along with the other ones. My “helper” daughter wanted those, no matter what. Despite her very public protests we didn’t purchase them. Can you imagine little feet, claws and teeth, not to mention the end product of all the food, all mixed up in a crochet blanket? And washing it every day? Not happening.
We, helper daughter and this year’s candidate for worlds worst mother, then arrived home and she decided that I needed to crochet little tiny dog coats by the millions, you know, 10 or so of each size and she wanted many various sizes catering for growth and various breeds. This also is not happening. They are going to be kept inside (it is coming on winter here) at night in a large play-pen thing and taken out only if it is warm. They also have a specially designed puppy warming blanket to be on. We also have a fireplace. The little dears are not going to freeze, overheat maybe, but not freeze.
I am in the proverbial dog house about all of this. Apparently I don’t love them enough to make them something. It seems my love is directly proportional to the amount of crocheting I do for someone. It appears I have passed the test with her because every toy, no matter what odd shape it is that she owns has clothes and possibly a blanket as well. She has an inordinately large number of afghans in her room and countless scarves and beanies and sweaters even though we live where it is only cold enough for them 2 months of the year, if that. I am not sure if she is going to report my intended lack of love to the RSPCA prior to us getting them, I will have to wait and see.
By the way, if you are curious as to why we are doing the fostering again I am not sure. They are more work than babies. Also I thought we had love to give but maybe I just don’t have enough!
Is anybody else on trial when it comes to hand made items or am I the only one held accountable for my ability to produce crochet to “prove†my love?
Usually, I am put on trial for WANTING to make things for animals of any age (except for my sister-in-laws dog… and she’s the only one I extremely hesitate to make things for).
However, when it comes to the itty bitty babies of the animal kingdom, the most that the logical part of my brain would allow me to make is a bed/something soft to lay on until they are out of the new born and hyper teething phase IF I do not already have something for them to use.
I just crochet mini-rugs that go into cat carriers to give to our local no-kill cat shelter, which is where my household (4 adults, all of whom know how to crochet!) got 3 of our 5 cats. No way could you get us to foster babies (cats don’t play well with strangers — it takes several months to get our kitties to accept the newcomer each time we’ve gotten a new one).
Veronica, Thanks for the blog…wonderful reading and I admire your fortitude…RSPCA must be very grateful. Our German Shepherd sleeps on his own crochet rug (creation of my mother who is 96) by our bedroom door. He spent his first few weeks in a shed on the breeder’s farm, but since coming home with us he has never seen a newspaper on the floor again!
………………..My adult dogs to have crochet blankets to sleep on, they didn’t get them from new however they are crocheted. Adult dogs are a far cry from little tiny feet getting caught, endless poo and razor sharp teeth getting stuck in the fibres. Remember these puppies are up to 9 weeks younger than you can purchase in a pet store. (RSPCA sell small breeds at 12 weeks and Large from 9 weeks). So dogs and cats with crochet i don’t have a problem with – it’s the infants that i do!
My Corgi & Dachsund dogs have quite long sharp toenails that hang up in crocheted items. I’ve found that the soft fleece works best for them.
teeny tiny diapers?
I’m thinking paper towels, scissors, and scotch tape
disposable, non-crochet, but handmade (technically) love?
I have boys that run when I suggest I make something for them, but the whole guilty thing and attitude is right on with my 15 yearold son! LOL…
Yesterday he told me I never BUY him clothes and I should….this is the child that wears a school uniform five days a week, who tells me he only wants to wear jeans and white t shirts and refuses my invitations to go shopping….but I should feel guilty.
See, they are all the same…lol…i’m just glad you get to crochet for her…I should have had at least one girl….LOL.
I commend you on your fostering…we have just been adopted by a gorgeous tabby young cat and that keeps us hopping…Good luck!
Maybe you should just ask your daughter to help you make these things. And be sure to let her know that eating yarn isn’t good for puppies. And they do that sometimes even when they aren’t puppies anymore. Good Lucik with all the cute little poo machines ! 🙂
I just want to say that it’s a wonderfu thing that you do and for your daughter, well, her heart is in the right place. I wish I could do the same but due to certain circumstances, I just can’t. So, one of the things that I’ve done is take all my old conforters, blankets and quilts, cut them up into small blankets. Then I’ve trimmed them and crochet edgings of some and some I’ve left with just a zig-zag hem. Took them all to our animal shelter so that then can use them as bedding for the animals. I’ve cleaned up some of my clutter doing this and feel great that I’ve recycled what I have. God Bless you and your Daughter!!!
My grandson (7) is always wanting me to make crocheted animals for him. He has two younger sisters that I have made crocheted doughnuts and cupcakes and such, as well as hats, scarfs, afghans. Everytime I make something for one of them I know I am going to hear ” did you make one for me?” It tickles me and blesses me. When I first started crocheting my daughter told me “I was not allowed to crochet clothes”. Years later she asked me to crochet a special cheeseburger dress for a Jimmy Buffet concert. My first of many clothing items :o) I think the puppy resue is awesome. Something that takes a special set of skills and patience. Your children will be so blessed by this. Kudos to you all for doing it !! I agree with the other writer about the tiny disposable diapers. Only I would use chux instead of paper towels. And get the kids to make them. Save ALOT of mess. Enjoy your babies. there is nothing like the smell of a new puppy.
(Still chuckling!) Agreed about the new puppy smell. . . once it’s cleaned up! ;P I am experiencing cleaning up after horses for the first time (volunteer, not my own). I love them so much that I actually enjoy it. But they’re not in my house. Blessings come with trials, and visa versa, yes? As for the entry into double-digit years with our children, well, blessings come with. . . ! I got back into crocheting after mine were grown, and happily they love the teddy bears I’ve made by the dozens; and my forays into wearable crochet have met with approval. (I must say that their approval comes much easier in their 20’s.)
No, she hasn’t yet measured my love by my production output but coincidentally, my husband is in the dog house over fostering kittens, or should I say, restricting our fostering activities. Why? Well, tiny kittens are mobile very quickly, but are not so good with aim; their lil ‘productions’ stink up a place pretty seriously, even with frequent cleaning. Meanwhile, my daughter and I volunteer at the Humane Society, loving kitties and walking dogs.
The Humane Society here in Nevada asks for blankets all the time, for cats and dogs, so we make them as well. The HS asks specifically for no knitted/crocheted items, however. We use fleece. Perhaps you and your daughter could whip together some fleece blankets to donate to the RSPCA and that would take some of the heat off. You know, in your spare time! lol!
I’m kind of the other way around. I feel the need to make something for my loved ones to prove myself. They all tend to graciously accept the humble offerings, frequently in spite of them being unsuitable, weird or the wrong colour. The dog-scarf I made my sister in law currently adorns their favourite figurine in the lounge, which also holds the door open and collects dog leads! Of course, I realise now that I’m assuming it’s there when I can’t see it! Not at all sure what’s happened to any of the jackets or booties I made for my nephew. Probably best not to ask.
You reminded me I have a couple of duvets to drop off to the RSPCA if they want them!
I also foster. With the little ones you need to help them after they eat by washing their little butts with a wet washcloth like mom does so there shouldn’t be much stuff around utill they start to go on their own and then puppy pads are a God send. Keeps the area dry and much cleaner for you and the babies. You can put a litter pan near the kittens really young. They will start using it as soon as they are able to go on their own.